self-awareness brings successIn my post The Major Barrier to Executing Your Strategic Plan, I talked about self-awareness as a key to moving your business agenda forward.  Mentioning the topic increased my self-awareness and I saw several posts this week that sparked more on this critical leadership factor.

One of my takeaways from the these posts is understanding the context of the things that are going on around you.  While I agree with this, it’s even more important to understand what’s going on inside your head.  That is, how does your own mind work?!  It is your mind that reacts to the stimulus around you and how you react determines your outcome.

Self-awareness is not a new concept.  It is the first habit in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Peoplebe proactive.  In this habit Covey tells us to take responsible for our own actions or how we react to situations.  And that how we react to situation is always influenced by our biases.

What happens if you don’t understand your biases?  We react to situations without understanding why (out of control).  Frequently in these situations we will react badly and as a result not get the outcome which we are looking.  Relationships are damaged in the process as well which is never a good thing.

Self Awareness Means Learning Control

Learning control is never easy.  But, like most things, it’s something you can learn.

We have all learned to do things before.  We all learned to crawl, walk, and talk.  Learning how your own mind works in no different, although it is far more complex and a lot harder to master!  That’s why many of us don’t.  We think it’s too hard, so we just stop trying.

The other reason we often stop is that it’s pretty scary going into our own minds.  Early on in life we learned to shut things out.  Most were too painful at the time.  Now, we’re afraid to go back there even though the situation is not the same as it was then.  Many of the answers are just on the other side of that wall we’ve put up.  The question is, “are you willing to do what it will take to get past what’s holding you back?

What’s your fear?  Are you willing to face it to have the success you say you want?  I’m here to tell you it’s possible.  If you share your fear and I’m sure you’ll find others that have struggled with it too.  If you’ve gotten past your fear share what was on the other side when you got past it.  It may help others to get past it too.

Too much to share outwardly in this forum?  Then email me!  I’ve seen more problems than you can imagine.  And, if I can’t help I know people that specialize in helping business leaders get past walls that imprison them.

If “do it yourself” (DIY) is more your style, take our FREE 7-Day Challenge: Finding Your Fire Again. Watch the video below to see how this DIY resource help you reconnect with your passion.

 

Breakthrough—success is on the other side!!!